MONDAY MORNING'S TOP STORIES

By

SimonKennedy

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock market futures were little moved Monday after the payrolls-inspired rally of the previous session, with American International Group back in the spotlight after it agreed another deal to sell one of its divisions. See Indications.

Global markets

European shares traded broadly flat Monday as declines in the pharmaceutical sector helped offset gains for some mining companies. Asia markets closed strongly higher, with resource-sector stocks pacing a broad-based advance on the back of higher commodity prices.

Broker action

BMO Capital Markets upgraded Research In Motion
RIMM
(RIM) to outperform from market perform and lifted its price target to $88 from $70 a share. The broker said it expects "a meaningful beat" when Research In Motion reports its earnings on March 31, driven by strength in all regions. "Competition that we were expecting now seems further away, including a CDMA iPhone, giving Research In Motion the ability to further grab share in the smartphone segment," BMO said.

American International Group
AIG, +0.41%
said it will sell its American Life Insurance Co. division to MetLife
MET, -0.19%
for around $15.5 billion in cash and stock. The deal comes just a week after AIG agreed to sell its Asian AIA business to U.K. insurer Prudential
PUK, -0.04%
for $35.5 billion. AIG will use the proceeds to help repay the bailout it received from taxpayers, while MetLife said the deal will lift its operating earnings in 2011 by between 45 cents and 55 cents a share.

McDonald's Corp.
MCD, -1.86%
said that its February sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 4.8%. Same-store sales rose 0.6% in the U.S., increased 5.4% in Europe and surged 10.5% in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Systemwide sales rose 11.2%, or 6.4% excluding the impact of currency translations.

Roche Holding
RHHBY, -0.36%
and Biogen Idec
BIIB, -2.51%
said they suspended a rheumatoid arthritis program using ocrelizumab because of safety concerns. The companies said the suspension had been recommended by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board, which found the risks outweighed potential benefits after cases of infection that led to several deaths.

Hewlett-Packard Co.
HPQ, -0.23%
said late Friday it had revised its first-quarter income down to $2.25 billion, or 93 cents a share, from $2.32 billion, or 96 cents a share, due to expenses related to a lawsuit involving Electronic Data Systems.

Kraft Foods
KFT
is being probed by Britain's Panel on Takeovers and Mergers after the company opted to close Cadbury's Somerdale candy factory, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, citing sources. During Kraft's effort to buy Cadbury, it repeatedly said it would keep the factory open, even though Cadbury had earmarked it for closure.

Royal Dutch Shell
RDS.A, -1.30%
and PetroChina
PTR, -0.28%
offered around $3 billion for Arrow Energy's Australian operations. The bid represents a premium of around 28% to Arrow Energy's closing price on Friday, though it's still below the level the stock traded at in January.

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